WhoIsWho.

MOSTLY AUTUMN Albums

On this page:

Go Well Diamond Heart ('10),
That Night in Leamington DVD ('10),

 

Go Well Diamond Heart.


1. For all we shared
2. Violet Skies
3. Deep in Borrowdale
4. Something better
5. Go well Diamond Heart
6. Back to Life
7. Hold the Sun
8. And when the War is over.

This exclusive double album will be limited to 2333 copies only.

The extra disc will only ever be available as part of this Limited edition, released 2-3 months before the general release single album.

You can order the new cd;
Go well Diamond Heart
@ www.mostlyautumnrecords.com

And yes it is a bit different, even more soaring guitars, slowly, laidback, here and there flaming, but those guitars and that crystal voice of Olivia are setting the tunes.



Mostly Autumn – Go Well Diamond Heart
October 22nd, 2010

It’s always hard for any band to replace their lead singer of many years, especially when it’s someone as talented and much-loved as Heather Findlay, and frequently the new singer has an uphill struggle to win over diehard fans. Add to this the fact that the past two albums, while they certainly both had their moments, both met with a decidedly mixed reaction from many fans, and you can see why Go Well Diamond Heart, Mostly Autumn’s ninth studio album, is really a make or break album for the band.

Former backing singer Olivia Sparnenn has already made a strong impression on stage during the spring tour in her new role as lead singer, but the new studio album is the way the revamped lineup will ultimately be judged, especially by those who haven’t had the chance to see the new-look Mostly Autumn live.

So does the new album succeed? After a few listens, I think it does.

This album is definitely one of those classed as “a grower”. While a handful of tracks made a strong impression on the first play, much of the album didn’t really come to life until I’d listened to the whole thing half a dozen times. I’ve read a one or two forum posts from people who seem to have written it off as ‘not very good’ after one or two plays. They should stick with it; it will be worth it in the end.

While some of the songs are not quite as immediately melodic as previous releases, the melodies are still there, they’re just a bit more subtle. The production is a lot rawer; rather than the polished approach of earlier albums this one has a very “live” feel to it, especially Bryan Josh’s guitar sound. Quite a few songs begin on acoustic guitar, switching to distorted electric part-way through. One thing that’s very noticeable is the number of times Bryan really cuts loose on lead guitar. On the last album, “Glass Shadows” I felt his playing was a little bit too mannered and restrained, with relatively little lead guitar; this time around he plays a blistering solo on almost every song.

Fans of Breathing Space will of course be aware of Olivia Sparnenn’s talents as a singer. While her predecessor is inevitably going to be a really hard act to follow, Olivia acquits herself superbly. Her singing continues to develop; while she’s clearly not trying to sound like Heather (which would have been a mistake), she’s not singing in the quite same way she did with Breathing Space either. There are certainly moments where she uses her power and range to great effect, such as the closing section of “Deep in Borrowdale” where she demonstrates the voice that can allegedly shatter wineglasses.

And it’s also great to hear Iain Jennings back on keys. While it seems ages ago that he rejoined the band for the tour promoting “Glass Shadows” in 2008, this is actually the first Mostly Autumn studio album he’s played on since 2005’s “Storms Over Still Waters”. It’s also worth noting that while Gavin Griffiths has also toured with the band extensively in recent year, it’s the first time he’s played drums for them in the studio.

The first disk, which will be released as the retail edition in November starts extremely strongly with “For All We Shared”, with it’s lengthy celtic-style atmospheric introduction featuring Troy Donockley’s Uilleann pipes leading into Bryan’s acoustic opening verse before building into a superb mid-tempo rocker with Olivia singing lead. With it’s quintessential Mostly Autumn sound it wouldn’t have sounded that out of place on the album of that title. In contrast, “Violet Skies” (Now there’s a Mostly Autumn song title if ever there was one), also sung by Olivia and dedicated to Heather Findlay is a catchy four-minute pop song which would make a great single. “Deep in Borrowdale” and “Something Better” are both hard rockers; the latter musically excellent but somewhat spoiled by some truly awful lyrics.

The title track is quite harrowing if you know the back story. It’s dedicated to Lance Bombardier Ben Parkinson, a Mostly Autumn fan serving in Afghanistan, critically wounded by a landmine. The album closes with three songs co-written by Olivia Sparnenn, the last of which “And When The War Is Over” again featuring Troy’s pipes, and to my ears is has the same feel as some of Roger Waters’ solo material, musically if not lyrically.

The second disk, available only in the limited edition is more a diverse collection of songs, but these cannot be described as left-overs; the best songs are as good as anything on the first disk. High points are the atmospheric “Ice”, co-written by Iain Jennings, “Hats Off” dedicated to the late Richard Wright of Pink Floyd, and Olivia Sparnenn’s soaring “Forever Young”, very reminiscent of her work with Breathing Space.

I was a bit worried when I read the announcement that the special edition was to be a double album. I remember 2006’s “Heart Full of Sky” where the band had stretched themselves too thin trying to come up with two albums worth of material in a short space of time, resulting in an album that seemed rushed with too many songs that sounded half-finished. This time they’ve managed to avoid that; while there are one or two songs on the second disk that don’t quite work (at least for me), there is far more that one CD’s worth of great material here.

The 2-disk limited edition is available from Mostly Autumn records while remaining stocks last. The single-disk retail edition goes on sale in mid-November.

By Tim Hall
more from Tim at
www.kalyr.com/weblog/.


Classic Rock Society Awards…..

Best Band 2010 – Mostly Autumn
Best CRS live concert 2010- Mostly Autumn
Best Album 2010 – Go Well Diamond Heart – Mostly Autumn
Best Female Vocalist 2010 – Olivia Sparnenn
Best Guitarist 2010 – Bryan Josh
Best Drummer – Gavin Griffiths
2010 personality of the year – Anne Marie Helder

Mostly Autumn would like to thank all of you who voted – they weren’t expecting this at all and are absolutely over the moon.

Thanks also to the Classic Rock Society for all that they do to keep music live and kicking.


REVIEWS:

"(Mostly Autumn) have delivered the Album of their career... "
So says Jerry Ewing in a very interesting and perceptive review of Go Well Diamond Heart in Classic Rock Presents Prog magazine (November).

A new triple star review of their latest DVD: backgroundmagazine + a review of their album.
pics, more pics, and another few.
Classic Rock Part 1
Classic Rock Part 2
Review: 4/5
www.mydadrocks.co.uk/
Review: 8/10.
An one in Dutch.

Live review by Tim Hall.
A review + free albums.

BTW:
Troy Donockley, the prince of the Uillian Pipes, joins them in York!

You can find a review at this spot by Tim Hall.

Live Review Nov '10.

 

That Night In Leamington DVD


On Friday 2nd April 2010 we all crammed in to the Leamington Assembly to witness the end of a journey, a long and inspiring road, stretching back further than thirteen years. It was a final farewell to Heather Findlay’s time with Mostly Autumn. To all of us it was a last chance to celebrate the magic that Heather wove throughout that journey, a fitting testament to the end of an era and I’m sure you will all join us in saying “Go Well Diamond Heart”...

The farewell dvd of Heather Findlay, more info here.

The dvd is shot bij John en Meriam Vis and has captured a wonderful event and the best of the Bryan Josh- Heather Findlay era.
Carpe Diem, Spirit of Autumn past, Mother Nature & Heroes are sublime. Heathers ballet and singing is an Art and Bryans guitar play is roaring like a Pink Purple Blackmore....

Www.mostly-autumn.com.
Set 1
Fading Colours
Caught in a Fold
Flowers for Guns
Unoriginal Sin
Spirit of Autumn Past (Part II)
Simple Ways
The Last Bright Light
Passengers
Shrinking Violet
Set 2
Carpe Diem
Winter Mountain
Dark Before The Dawn
Answer The Question
Nowhere to Hide
Half The Mountain
Mother Nature
Above The Blue
Heroes Never Die
Evergreen
The End of an Era
thatnightin

Buy at www.mostly-autumn.com.


The Albums, click on the titles for more info.

For All We Shared (1998)
The Spirit Of Autumn Past (1999)
The Last Bright Light (2001)
+ the single Prints in Stone.
The Story So Far DVD/ CD (2001)
Music Inspired By The Lord Of The Rings (2001)
Catch The Spirit - The Complete Anthology (2002)
Passengers (2003)
The Next Chapter DVD (2003)
Live at The Opera House DVD
Limited Edition Astoria DVD.
Storms over over still Water CD (2005)
Storms over London Town live cd (2006)
Heart full of Sky (2007)
Glass Shadow CD (2008)
Pass the Clock 3 geremasterd cd's/ best of cd (2009)
Live (2009)
thatnightin Still Beautiful Live 2011
+
High Voltage Live (July 2011).
Ghost Moon Orchestra (2012).

 



Mostly Autumn pre-X-mas tour 2009 / 17 december Peron55 Venlo, 18 december De Boerderij Zoetermeer, 19 december Hedon Zwolle, 20 december The Spirit of 66 Verviers, go, see and be amazed......



New: photo's and reviews of the Dutch Spring tour 2009 at this spot.

Tour dates on this page.

Free Tickets Mostly Autumn.

17.12.2010 De Boerderij Zoetermeer NL http://www.cultuurpodiumboerderij.nl//
18.12.2010 Oosterpoort Groningen NL http://www.de-oosterpoort.nl/
19.12.2010 Spirit of 66 Verviers Be http://www.spiritof66.be/

 

Mostly Autumn Dutch weblog with more news.

 

 

Back to Mostly Autumn

Solo:
Iain Jennings
Odin Dragonfly
Bryan Josh
Sessions and solo's

Competition!

 

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Index SymfoSymfo Index.

 

Updated October 2011 by Nick

 

For all who we've lost, where ever they are.
www.mostlypink.net